Report: Shrewsbury Town 1-3 Wanderers
Samni Odelusi marked his first senior start for the club with two goals either side of half time to secure Wanderers' passage into second round of the Capital One Cup with a 3-1 win against Shrewsbury Town.
The Wanderers youth team graduate demonstrated his pedigree in front of goal with two well taken finishes after Robert Hall got the visitors on their way with his first goal for the club.
Town did level matters midway through the first half through Aaron Wildig, but Wanderers soon found their feet in Shropshire as Dougie Freedman's side sealed their first competitive win of the 2013/14 campaign.
Four players retained their place from the side which played Burnley last weekend. Full back Marc Tierney started at left back against his former employers, with Medo, skipper Zat Knight and Darren Pratley also keeping hold of their shirts for the Capital One Cup tie.
Notable inclusions to the Bolton starting eleven included David Ngog and young winger Odelusi, with the latter making his first senior start for the club.
League One outfit Shrewsbury Town handed starts to Paul Parry and John Marsden, two of the players who scored against Wanderers during a pre-season friendly last month.
Town, unchanged from their weekend draw against MK Dons, enjoyed the better of the opening 15 minutes at Greenhous Meadow, with Jon Taylor and Luke Summerfield both having efforts on goal from range, with neither troubling Andy Lonergan.
The Shrews were forced into an early change, with Marsden replaced by former Wanderers man Alex McQuade.
Instantly after the change, Craig Davies rattled the Shrewsbury Town cross bar with an angled header from a teasing Hall corner.
Despite Davies’ header, the hosts were on top and looked the more likely to break the deadlock with a number of ambitious efforts drifting over Lonergan’s cross bar.
For the first time in the tie, Wanderers exposed the Shrews backline, as they failed to deal with a 30-yard cross field pass from Odelusi, resulting in Davies having time and space to shoot, but the former Barnsley man fluffed his effort well wide to trouble the home goalkeeper.
Bolton’s positive spell continued with Ngog scarcely missing the target from 20-yards before winger Hall set Greenhous Meadow a light with a memorable strike in the 26th minute.
The youngster collected possession from 25-yards before curling the ball beyond the outstretched right arm of Chris Weale into the far corner to record his first senior goal.
However, Wanderers’ joy was short lived, and on the half hour mark, Town levelled the tie when Parry’s cross caught out the Bolton defence, leaving Wildig alone inside the penalty area to add the finishing touches to a deserved equaliser.
Dougie Freedman’s men were unlucky not to regain the lead in the 33rd minute when Ngog released strike partner Davies down the left hand side, but the striker’s shot across goal was palmed away by Weale.
Opportunities were continuing to fall for both sides, as Wanderers’ custodian Lonergan, formally of Preston and Leeds, showed his credentials with two quality saves inside five minutes to deny the League One side, first from Summerfield and then Town goal scorer, Wildig.
Teenager Hall’s second competitive start for Wanderers got even better just before the half time whistle as his tantalising cross helped Bolton regain the lead.
Full back Tye Mears, one of seven Bolton changes from the weekend, pulled the ball back for Hall on the right hand side, who delivered a perfect cross to the back post for Odelusi to prod home on his senior debut for the club.
In buoyant mood after their late first half goal, Wanderers started the second half brightly, and Davies, looking for Bolton’s third and his first of the season, burst away from his marker on the left hand side, forcing a top drawer save from Weale to keep the first round tie alive.
However, Bolton soon acquired their two goal cushion as Odelusi grabbed his second of the evening at the Greenhous Meadow after a superbly executed counter attacking move in the 53rd minute.
After possession was given away by former Bolton man McQuade on the edge of Lonergan’s penalty area, Wanderers immediately raced up the field, with Ngog slipping the ball through for Odelusi to slam past Weale in front of the 640 travelling support from the North West.
With Bolton firmly in control, manager Freedman made his first change of the evening, as Ngog was replaced after a solid hour, Brazilian Andre Moritz coming on for his debut.
After a quiet 20 minute spell, with Wanderers comfortable in possession and looking in no real danger, Freedman made his two final changes, with Keith Andrews and Alex Baptiste coming on for Darren Pratley and Robert Hall.
The Whites saw out the remainder of the tie to seal their place in the second round of the Capital One Cup, with the draw on Thursday afternoon.